Nate Diaz Returns To MMA To Face Mike Perry On Netflix’s Blockbuster Rousey Vs Carano Card

Nate Diaz is set to return to MMA against Mike Perry on May 16 on a Most Valuable Promotions card headlined by Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano, which will stream live on Netflix as the platform’s first MMA event. The news was first reported by Andreas Hale.

Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry on Netflix

Diaz vs Perry adds to the card with a fan favorite style lineup built around names that resonate with long-time viewers. Diaz left the UFC after submitting Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 in September 2022, closing out a 15-year run with the promotion that included his breakthrough win over Conor McGregor and a long tenure as one of the sport’s most talked-about personalities.

Since then, Diaz has stepped into boxing, including a crossover bout with Jake Paul, and has repeatedly indicated he wanted “real action” again, recently telling fans he was looking at opponents like McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Perry as options for a return. Social clips in early 2026 showed Diaz talking up a comeback and claiming he helped create the “BMF” identity in the UFC, hinting that a move back to MMA was on the horizon.

Perry, for his part, has reinvented himself in bare-knuckle boxing since leaving the UFC in 2021, where he was a crowd-pleasing welterweight with a reputation for forward pressure and willingness to brawl. After signing with BKFC, he picked up headline wins over Julian Lane and Michael “Venom” Page that gave his post-UFC career fresh momentum and turned him into one of the promotion’s main attractions.

Back in 2022, Perry openly called for a fight with Diaz after both men left the UFC, framing the matchup as the kind of wild, action-heavy contest fans would expect from their styles. Online forums picked up the idea again in 2025 when talk of a potential boxing match between the two surfaced, with fans debating whether Diaz’s volume and durability would stand up against Perry’s more compact punching in a ring. Bringing the clash to the cage rather than a boxing ring adds another layer: Diaz’s jiu-jitsu is far more relevant in MMA, while Perry’s bare-knuckle form suggests he is comfortable in close-quarters exchanges that could translate well to smaller gloves.

Rousey vs Carano

Most Valuable Promotions, owned by Jake Paul, has already confirmed that its first fully branded MMA show will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on May 16, with Rousey vs Carano topping the bill and the entire card airing live to Netflix subscribers at no extra cost.

Netflix describes the show as its debut MMA broadcast after previous work with MVP on boxing events, including the crossover Paul vs Mike Tyson card. Rousey’s return alone would have been enough to dominate headlines. The former UFC bantamweight champion has not competed in MMA since her loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016, making this her first fight in almost a decade.

During her prime, Rousey became the UFC’s first female champion and a key figure in getting women’s MMA into the promotion in 2013, quickly building a reputation for rapid armbar finishes and mainstream crossover appeal. Carano, meanwhile, has been away even longer; she last fought professionally in 2009, when Cris Cyborg stopped her in a Strikeforce featherweight title bout that marked one of the early high-profile women’s main events in the sport.

Beneath the headliner, MVP has already confirmed at least one heavyweight showcase: former UFC champion Francis Ngannou will face UFC veteran Philipe Lins on the same card at the Intuit Dome. Ngannou, who left the UFC in 2023 to pursue boxing and more flexible combat sports deals, will re-enter the cage under the MVP–Netflix banner, while Lins, a former PFL heavyweight tournament champion and UFC fighter, gets a high-profile platform on a global streaming stage.

For Diaz and Perry, it is a chance to plug into that spotlight and settle a matchup fans have been talking about for years, while Netflix and MVP gauge whether this kind of marquee-driven MMA can become a recurring part of the streaming era.